Chaing Kong - Almost in Laos

Well we are in Chaing Kong tonight. Right on the Mekong river. Just over the river is Laos. Tomorrow morning we board a small boat over the Mekong and go through Laos immigration. Then go to the pier to get a better boat to go down the river to Pakbeng. I guess we will arrive in Pakbeng at 4pm. Then onto Luang Prabang the next day. Two days on the Mekong river should be fun. We will be on a wooden boat with a squat toilet and nothing else. We will get a packed lunch box of the usual fried rice and veggies. We are currently shopping for snacks. I will see if I can find one last diet coke here. There was no diet soda in Myanmar and there will be none in Laos. So water it is for a bit (which will be good for me). I need to get rehydrated again anyway. The long car rides I try not to drink water since they really only stop at designated areas. We left Bangkok a couple days ago on the overnight train to Chaing Mai. It was much nicer then the train in Myanmar, no mice or cobwebs even. They had servers that brought coffee and dinner orders. The bed were great. An upper bunk and lower bunk. The rocking of the train was annoying but besides that very comfortable. My only problem was they woke us up for coffee at 6am which would have been fine if we had arrived at the designated 7am but the train was slow and we did not get in until 10am. So a bit more sleep would have been good. We decided to do a Thai cooking course in Chaing Mai for the day. Similar to the one I did before with Joanne. It was great. We make Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai, Green Curry, Stirfried rosemarry and bannas in coconut milk for dessert. Lots of good eating and finally some spicy food (they always tone down the food here for white people). At the end of the course the instructor took us to the local market to teach us about the foods and what they look like. At night we went to Wat Suthet (the large temple on the hill overlooking Chaing Mai). I have been there before but it was amazing to see the monks perform their nightly chants. We got blessed with holy water by another monk and enjoyed the experience. It is still one of my favorite spots. Last night we did not sleep too well since someone at the hotel woke us up at midnight banging on the wrong door. Then some drunk morons next store started screaming and playing caps against the wall at 2:30am. I was a real pleasure this morning and when they put meat in my lunch and I had to send it back again. However, I cheered up when I saw the temple (I think it was called Wat Rang Khun). It is an all white temple an artist in Chaing Rai is currently building. I have seen pics in the past and really wanted to see the place. There are amazing skeleton hands reaching out of hell with crazy faces and really elaborate details on the temple. We actually saw the artist and went through his art gallery too. Of coarse I bought a print to support the temple. The cloudy backdrop of today was perfect for pics of this temple. I will try to post one later. So I was happy after lunch. We arrived in Chaing Kong around 4pm. We are having group dinner and a briefing before we head to Laos tomorrow. Take care... Sonya:)

Off We Go Again

We started our second GAP tour today. We did a canal ride this morning. It was overcast in Bangkok and the water was rougher than usual. Then off to Wat Pho for the 3rd time. It was great to have a tour guide this time. Learned a few more details about Thai Buddhism. Just finished a great lunch at a veggie restaurant and are now going to tour Koh San road one last time for some shirts. Off to catch the overnight train to Chaing Mai tonight. Going to take another cooking course there tomorrow. Then off to Laos. I will write whenever I can. Love, Sonya:)

Some Additives About Burma That I Missed

I forgot to mention more about the Moustache Brothers. I did not want to write about them from Burma since all outgoing mail is scanned for certain words. The Moustache Brothers were the comedy troupe we went and saw in Mandalay. They were blacklisted by the government years ago for making political jokes. As a result they can only perform for tourists in their home. Crazy stuff. No Burmese people are allowed to hire them and they can't work anywhere. They were amazing guys and are super brave even with so much suppression. 2 out of the 3 of them went to jail for years because they told a political joke at an outdoor event. They still speak up nightly about the government and all the things the government does and hides from tourists so you don't see it. They still have some good jokes about the government too (like why do you leave Burma to go to the dentist, because you don't want to open your mouth in that country.....ha ha [or something along those lines]). We took some videos of their show and we hope to figure out how to post them. It is great to see such strong people who stand up for what is right even when the consequences can be so harsh. It is too bad the rest of their family go on the blacklist with them so their wives and sisters are also part of the show. Well I guess that is another blurb... I thought I had more to say but I can't think of what it was now. Take care, Sonya:)

Start Of The Next Tour

Today we transferred hotels to the Royal hotel in Bangkok. Not as nice as Silom Serene where we have been staying. We meet our next tour group tonight and start our next itinerary tomorrow. The Royal hotel is right on one of Bangkok's canals near Koh San Road (the backpackers area). It is good for me since I have never been to Koh San Road before and I have always meant to check it out. What a zoo. So many shops and bars it is great. Starbucks and all the comforts of home, only with the Bangkok heat and smog. Cheap internet is another bonus. I posted a couple of pics from Burma. I had more to do but due to the memory size of the pictures it took approx 10 minutes to load each one and it was costing way to much on the computer I was on. I will try to post more when I return. Last night we met up with Anne (our tour guide from Burma) and her friend Saigan. We had a blast down on Patpong 3. We spent the majority of the night at patio bars drink way too many pitchers of margaritas. It was great. Around 11:30pm they had a great drag queen show right down the middle of the street. They roll out a red carpet so you know there will be a show. We only headed off the road for a bit to grab some food half way through the night. Overall, it was a great time! We paid a little bit this morning for the fun, but that will at least make sure we do not party too much again too soon:) Off to the next tour. Love, Sonya:)

Bangkok Day 2 - Jan 27th

Well, Bangkok has been a fun break from touring. It is nice to have a couple of days to relax and chill out. Yesterday we headed out and had a 2 hour thai massage. I think it was enough for me. The woman had every muscle in my body turned to mush by the time she was done. Her force got harder and harder. I think they enjoy watching people wince. It was great in the end. No need to do yoga if you could get a thai massage everyday. After our massages we headed down to a patio bar in Patpong. We drank a couple of pitchers of margaritas and chatted with some Ottawa boys. People watching down there is fabulous. We cut ourselves off after a couple pitchers since we are hitting the town tonight with our tour leader from Burma. She resides in Bangkok and we got along really well and decided to hit the dance bars tonight. Should be a good time. We hit the night market after but only bought a couple small things. I think over my last 2 trips I’ve bought almost everything they have there. Besides that Bangkok is WAY more expensive then Burma or Laos will be. Vietnam is also supposed to be cheaper. Today we got up and headed to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson is a famous American who brought high end Thai silk to the world. He put 6 traditional Thai houses to Bangkok and put them together into a beautiful home. There is also a lovely garden there. It is one of the places here in Bangkok I have not toured in the past. The strange part is the Jim Thompson disappeared in the 1060s on a trip to Malyasia. No one knows what happened to him. I bought a couple high end silk items. It was a great tour and they explained a lot about Thai architecture which we really enjoyed. Since then we have had a couple drinks and a nice Mexican meal. The Mexican place had a great live Jazz band. Strange combination. We have a couple more hours to chill before we head out. Tomorrow night we meet up with our next tour group. We start with some Bangkok temples and then catch the over night train on Monday to Chaing Mai (North Thailand). I hope everything is well back at home. We have heard that winter is in full swing. We would never know it here in Bangkok. The smog and heat is unbelievable. It will be nice to get to the cooler temps we got used to in Burma again. We read that Laos and Hanoi are much much cooler. Sonya

The End Of Burma Continued - Jan 26th

The small town on the edge of Inle Lake was great. Again I felt so bad for the people. Inle Lake is a huge tourist destination with few people there. When we went for dinner later in the evening the woman and her children were very happy to have us. The kids were too cute. We walked the entire town chatting with many locals. The next day (Jan 24th) we did a boat tour of the Lake. Inle Lake is the second largest lake in Burma. 70000 people live on the lake. They are known for their famous one legged rowing fisherman and their floating gardens. The fisherman row their boats with one leg while standing so their hands are free to use their nets. It was a great site to see. Addi has a movie of the process. The floating gardens, the people make a mixture of soil and a binder (gum of some sort) and other materials to make the dirt solid and float. They use bamboo poles to hold the dirt in one place. They have huge gardens of tomatoes and cabbage and cucumbers and other crops. So smart. We were also amazed that the children run free on bridges and around the homes. No safety gates there. Side note: It is actually amazing to watch the kids in the entire country. I do not think I ever heard a kid cry. Most kids take care of their brothers and sisters. 6 year olds taking care of 1 year olds like it is nothing. Never crying for toys and things, just living. And their smiles and enjoyment of their days is an inspiration. If we could all only be that content with so little. Playing with a stick or an elastic was hours of entertainment for many of them. But they all seem to stick together and hang out. Even the poor ones stuck selling postcards at the temple always seemed to have a smile for you. It was a great honour to be able to help so many people there. My group kept making fun of me for buying so much. Most things were under $1 so if I bought 2 things a day big deal. I think some of them were a bit too cheap. I think it is great when so little for me can impact someone so much. I think it is the least I can do. Back in Inle Lake…. Our first stop on the lake was to see the long neck women from the Pandoga tribe. They use brass metal rings to protect their neck adding rings through the years. Great photos and an amazing site. They loved my tattoos and I loved their jewelry. A body modification exchangeJ From there we went to a weaving shop. Inle Lake is the only place I’ve ever heard of that does Lotus weaving. It was a painstakingly long process where they break the stems from the lotus plant to pull out long fibres and then weave and dye them into scarves. However, each scarf takes many days to get enough fibers for one scarf. The scarves cost $45-$80 which is an unheard of amount there so you can imagine the work. Of coarse I had to splurge on one. What a cool idea (a real lotus fibre scraf). They also did silk and cotton for much much less. Then off to a blacksmith shop. Watching the men pound and fold steel the old fashioned way. What a physically demanding job (reminded me of the gold leaf place). Great to see. Reminded me of old samurai movies when they make the swords (they were making knives from old engine parts). Reuse and recycle is an amazingly resourceful way there. Then a stop to a cigarette (charoot) making place. The women rolling smokes make $1 per day. They get 1 kyat per cigarette (1000kyats is $0.80) so you can imagine how fast they roll. Gives a new meaning to blunt rolling. We had lunch at a restaurant on the lake. Great views and good food. The tomato salad in Burma was my favorite. I am going to work on duplicating it when I get homw. After lunch we visited a floating Buddhist temple where the 5 main buddhas have so much gold leaf on them they are just blobs now, but the people of Inle love them. Then we went to the jumping cat monestary. The monks have taught cats to jump through hoops for treats. Quite a site. I took a video of this feat! That night we went out to the fanciest restaurant in town. Addi and I wanted some wine. For a bottle of wine and a 5 course first class traditional Shan dinner with an amazing view and setting of the river we paid under $40 (and the wine was most of it). Yesterday we flew back to Yangon early. Addi and I invited Jackie to our date with the monks. The three of us jumped in a cab to make our way to a small monestary we were invited to, so we could teach the monks English. They were very excited to see us and happy we kept our promise to them (how could you not, now that would be some bad karma!). It was a great afternoon. We learned a ton about their way of life and they learned about ours. They could not believe we did not live with our parents still (in Burma you live with your extended family forever). They invited all the locals from down the road that take English there at night too so we met the entire neighbourhood. It was a very moving and fabulous afternoon. We did not want to go but we had to meet out group to tour the Schwedegon pagoda for sunset. We got a lot of e-mail addresses to keep in contact so they could keep learning their English. One example of how great the people were. One girl’s brother died 3 years ago from liver disease and her mother died last year. She is now studying zoology at university so she can teach poor people to fish and have a better life. Talk about not feeling sorry for yourself. Later we met our group for sunset a Schwedegon pagoda. Beautiful. Talked to another ton of monks there. Then off to the famous Stand hotel for a drink and a fancy dinner to end the group tour. However, after many happy hour margaritas Addi, me, Jackie and Anne went to a strange “fashion show” bar to continue our bender. We ordered a bottle of whiskey and some cokes and watch fully clothes Burmese girls walk on a stage and every so often a guy would jump up on stage and give one girl a flower lay and everyone would clap. In between “fashion shows” as we called them, some girls sang karaoke. Very fascinating. We loved it! Then we caught a few hours of sleep before returning to Bangkok today. Now we are going to head out for a 2 hour Thai massage (not sure if the masochist in me is ready but here we go). Then some great green curry and off to Patpong for some drinks. Should be good! Take care everyone and lots of love, Sonya PS. The rest of my posts should be on my blog.

Back In Bangkok Jan 26, 2008

It is quite a culture shock to be back in Bangkok after being in Burma for the last 2 weeks. I used to think Thailand was a nice and kind country but it really does not compare to Burma. Bangkok is hectic and dirty and we have had more people already try to scam us today then our entire time in Burma. I still love Thailand but luckily I know the tricks around here. We flew back from Yangon early this morning. We were both very sad to leave Burma. I am truly amazed at how much that country touched me and how immensely kind the Burmese people are. You never have to worry about being scamed or anything being stolen, it just does not happen there (or very very rarely). I am going to write many letters to the government when I return. I know they think they are helping with their economic sanctions and travel warnings but they are really only hurting the Burmese people who really do not deserve anymore pain. The government has tons of money from China and all new cars and weapons. They even built a brand new capital with all new buildings just for themselves (worried the USA will bomb them they abandoned Yangon). I can't tell you how many Burmese people say they blame themselves for the sanctions and the lack of tourists because the protested. That is very unfair when they have every right to protest peacefully and to speak up. Now they are having huge economic despair (for an already super poor nation). Everywhere we went it was like Addi said Grand Bend on May 24 weekend and no one showed up. All the restaurants are open and they are just dying for tourists. There were very few tourists anywhere and the people are really hurting. All of them were incredibly thankful to have us and again truly the most spectacular people I've ever met. Kind smiles everywhere you go. They want to talk to you just to learn and to see what it out there beyond their country (unlike other Asian countries where they always want you to pay them). I truly hope more people will consider going there since it is a great place, very safe, and cheap and your visit will make a difference in many peoples lives (if you don't stay at government run places). We were very lucky that GAP only gives about 15% of the cost to the govt and the rest to the people. The costs were truly amazing. Most huge frest meals were between $1-$2 and everything to buy the same. So the last few days..... After Bagan we hit the road, and what a long bumpy road it was. We drove for 12 hours one day to get from Bagan to Kalow. I think we could only go about 15 miles an hour. The road was attrocious. I was SO car sick (which has not happened since I was young). There is only one poorly paved lane and when cars come you stop and drive on the shoulder to get around. Still amazes me how people there all work together so few people are hurt considering the conditions. We made one stop that day at Mt Popa. It is a huge "Nat" site. Nats are spirits that the Burmese believe help them with superstitions. The only problem at Mt Popa is the Macake monkeys (can't spell it). They are quite aggressive. We each brought an umbrella so when they come towards you you stomp the umbrella and they leave. It was another 777 stairs with no shoes. I think my feet are getting stronger now. Not so much pain anymore. At the top of Mt Popa is a Buddhist shrine. Not the nicest one but another great view. Besides that we drove and drove and drove. In Kalow we slept and ate the hugest meal for $1.80. But once again my stomach was not happy. Not too bad but not great. I am glad to say that since then I have been OK. I think my body is finally adapting. I think it is the cooking oil they use. The next day we drove to Inle Lake. It was another 5 hour driving day. We stopped half way at the Pindaya caves. It was spectacular. 2 conected caves with over 8000 buddhas in the caves. There was even a small meditation opening you had to crawl to get into. Only 200 barefoot stairs there. Then a great lunch before we finished the drive. Inle Lake was great. Small town on the edge of the lake was quiet and peaceful. We wondered the town and found a vegetarian restaurant and ate there (my tummy was thankful). I am going to post this and continue since I as not sure when my internet hour is up.....